Oracle wins copyright ruling against Google over Android

SAN FRANCISCO -- Oracle Corp won a key legal victory against Google Inc on today as a U.S. appeals court decided Oracle could copyright parts of the Java programming language, which Google used to design its Android smartphone operating system.

The case, decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, is being closely watched in Silicon Valley. A high-profile 2012 trial featured testimony from Oracle's chief executive, Larry Ellison, and Google CEO Larry Page, and the legal issues go to the heart of how tech companies protect their most valuable intellectual property.

Google's Android operating system is the world's best-selling smartphone platform. Oracle sued Google in 2010, claiming that Google had improperly incorporated parts of Java into Android. Oracle is seeking roughly $1 billion on its copyright claims.

A San Francisco federal judge had decided that Oracle could not claim copyright protection on parts of Java, but on today the three-judge Federal Circuit panel reversed that ruling.

“We conclude that a set of commands to instruct a computer to carry out desired operations may contain expression that is eligible for copyright protection,” Federal Circuit Judge Kathleen O'Malley wrote.

Oracle said it was “extremely pleased” with the decision.

“The Federal Circuit's opinion is a win for Oracle and the entire software industry that relies on copyright protection to fuel innovation and ensure that developers are rewarded for their breakthroughs,” said Oracle General Counsel Dorian Daley in an email.

Google had no immediate comment.

NOT THE END OF LEGAL DISPUTE

The case examined whether computer language that connects programs - known as application programming interfaces, or APIs - can be copyrighted. At trial in San Francisco, Oracle claimed Google's Android trampled on its rights to the structure of 37 Java APIs.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the Java APIs replicated by Google were not subject to copyright protection and were free for all to use. The Federal Circuit disagreed on today, ruled for Oracle and instructed the lower court to reinstate a jury's finding of infringement as to 37 Java API packages.

“We find that the district court failed to distinguish between the threshold question of what is copyrightable - which presents a low bar - and the scope of conduct that constitutes infringing activity,” O'Malley wrote.

The unanimous Federal Circuit panel ordered further proceedings before Alsup to decide whether Google's actions were protected under fair use.

Google had argued that software should only be allowed to be patented, not copyrighted. However, O'Malley wrote that the Federal Circuit is bound to respect copyright protection for software, “until either the Supreme Court or Congress tells us otherwise.”

The case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is Oracle America Inc vs. Google Inc, 13-1021.